"...he could play guitar just like a-ringing a bell."

[OldStrummer]

Please forgive the vagueness of this post. I'm hunting around for the sound clip I heard to help clarify it, and when I find it, I'll post it here.

Just so you know: I'm not a pedals/effects guy. Oh, I have a few (OD, Wah, distortion), but my pedalboard mostly just sits there. I also have two Fender modeling amps (Champion 40 and Mustang II v2) but I usually just play them clean. So...

All this talk here about amps and different sounds got me to thinking: I have heard some tunes where the guitar actually has a bell-like quality. I'm not talking harmonics, I'm talking about the the notes "shining," clean and clear. But definitely not straight guitar-string plucking.

Y'see? I now I need a sample, so when I find one I'll post it. But I'm getting an early start because I know there are some very bright and talented people here, and maybe someone can get me started on what I should do/look for to get this kind of sound?

[ch willie]

Is it a leslie sound? Like in the opening of these songs?

[ch willie]

[DanTheBluesMan]

do you know who it was by?

[dirtdog]

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that many players have many opinions on what bell like guitar tone is. I’ve most often heard that term associated with a Strat with the pickup selector in bridge position. Is that what you’re trying to track down?

I’d start with noted Strat players - SRV, KWS, Clapton etc. Maybe even John Mayer or early Joe Bonnamassa

[OldStrummer]

I've been re-listening to the music I heard over the past week (an enjoyable task, but lengthy), and here is an example. It's perhaps not the best, but the performer, David Helpling is probably the best I've heard at producing this particular sound. In fact, he has a lot of delicious (IMO) sounds and overlays them in such a way as to create sonic "soundscapes."

[jrgtr42]

There's a lot of ways of getting that sound.
Depending on the amp you can get that sound naturally, but more often there's effects or something involved. Be it a Leslie, or chorus.
Sometimes the guitar part is duplicated with a 12-string in the studio, I believe that's how Guns N' Roses got those chiming parts on Appetite for Destruction.

[Keefoman1]

These guitar tracks are played with lots of reverb and delay.

Here's Michael Schenker making his guitar actually sound like a bell, if you go to about 3:11 in this video:

[dirtdog]

I've been re-listening to the music I heard over the past week (an enjoyable task, but lengthy), and here is an example. It's perhaps not the best, but the performer, David Helpling is probably the best I've heard at producing this particular sound. In fact, he has a lot of delicious (IMO) sounds and overlays them in such a way as to create sonic "soundscapes."

It appears that David Helping favours Ibanez superstrats - with a LOT of fx.

[OldStrummer]

I have struck up an acquaintance with David Helpling. I don't want to just barge in and ask him what his rig is, but I'm hoping to learn from the man himself how he manages to get some of those sounds.